Time passed quickly, and half a month went by, with the construction of the medicine factory also reaching halfway.
Qi Yue was busy with her medical research and concerned about the medicine factory, training pharmacists, so she often had to leave the mansion.
Zhao Xiyan worried about her safety, and unless there was an extremely urgent matter, he would always accompany her.
Most of the time, he even carried his official duties with him.
Upon arrival, the two would go about their separate tasks.
This daily companionship was quite sweet and harmonious.
Three or four days passed in a flash.
On the evening of the fifth day, the two left the medicine factory and took a carriage home.
From the medicine factory to the Qi Mansion, they usually took East Main Street.
And during this time it was always bustling, with Qi Yue often looking through the hidden glass window of the carriage to observe the outside.
"Yueyue, the streets seem especially bustling today," Zhao Xiyan, who had been watching the streets, suddenly furrowed his brow.
"Indeed," Qi Yue retracted her gaze, "Does it seem like a festival is coming?"
Having heard this, Hei Lie, who always followed beside the carriage, responded in a low voice.
"Master, tomorrow is the Bathing Orchid Day, and the folks will prepare a day in advance."
"That's right, I didn't realize summer had come so quickly... another year has passed."
Qi Yue replied, looking towards Zhao Xiyan, only to find his brows tightly furrowed, seemingly very worried, which made her unable to resist reaching out to touch between his brows.
"Husband, did you see something?"
"No, perhaps it was just my eyes playing tricks on me," Zhao Xiyan took her hand, and his brows immediately relaxed.
Upon hearing this, Qi Yue knew something was up, and immediately leaned closer, saying seriously, "You're not planning to tell me? That's not very honest of you! Careful, or I'll deal with you!"
"Ha." Zhao Xiyan pursed his lips and chuckled, stretching his arm to pull her closer, "How do you plan to deal with your husband?"
Qi Yue slapped her hand over the lips he was about to kiss.
"Stop changing the subject, tell me now!"
Zhao Xiyan kissed her palm and fell silent for a moment before he began to speak.
"I just saw a figure that looked a bit like one of the Longting Guard."
Qi Yue raised an eyebrow.
"Judging by your expression, it wasn't just any Longting Guard, right? Speak up quick, was it Sheng Gong or Sheng Cuihua?"
Zhao Xiyan raised his hand and rubbed her head.
"You're really clever, nothing gets past you... it was Sheng Cuihua."
Qi Yue chuckled, "Of course, I am Qi Yue after all!"
"Right, my Yueyue is obviously the best."
Zhao Xiyan said, laughing as he neatly combed her hair with his fingers.
Qi Yue blinked her eyes, watching his earnest expression, and couldn't help but laugh again.
The two looked at each other, and for a moment their gazes intertwined; the narrow space inside the carriage suddenly stirred with a thick tide of affection.
Finally, it was Qi Yue who spoke to break the somewhat inappropriate atmosphere.
"What do you think, are they targeting me, or you, or perhaps both of us?"
Zhao Xiyan pursed his lips and pondered for a moment.
"Yueyue, from now on, you need to be extra careful and not leave my side."
Qi Yue blinked.
"Are you saying they're targeting me?"
"..." Zhao Xiyan fell silent for a moment, "Yueyue, there are some things I haven't told you before, but now you need to know about them."
"What's the matter? Why are you suddenly so serious?"
"Well, didn't you want to know the origin of the Black Feather Order before? If I explain that, you will understand the situation we are currently facing."
Qi Yue was surprised.
"Do you mean, the Black Feather Order is related to Sheng Gong?"
"Yes."
About the Rishengchang and the Black Feather Guard, which the Black Feather Order controlled, Qi Yue had indeed been curious, but she never expected that this powerful bank and its backing organization were actually related to Nanyue."
While they were talking, the carriage had already arrived at Qi Mansion.
Qi Yue had originally wanted to have some good wines and dishes prepared to share a drink with Zhao Xiyan, especially since the festival was nearly upon them.
But with such explosive news preceding, she disregarded those plans and directly instructed the servants not to prepare meals for the two of them.
"The Marquis and I have already dined, and unless it's something important, do not disturb us!"
"Yes."
As the maids left, Qi Yue immediately shut the door and pulled Zhao Xiyan into the space.
"Are you that interested? You're even skipping meals." Zhao Xiyan said with a bit of amusement as he looked at her.
"Of course, I love listening to stories."
Qi Yue efficiently prepared some snacks, and they sat in a small pavilion by the brook, talking while they ate.
"It turns out that Master Shen and I belong to the same sect," Zhao Xiyan revealed astonishingly.
Qi Yue became more curious and surprised.
"My Lord, this is the first time you're talking about your sect's inheritance, I thought you were self-taught!"
Zhao Xiyan smiled, then started to explain slowly.
Originally, this world hundreds of years ago was a unified continent known as the Qiongzhou Continent.
At that time, the Qiongzhou Continent, unlike the four countries today, was ruled jointly by twelve aristocratic families and eight great powers.
Furthermore, the climate back then also differed from today's; the unified continent didn't have clear seasonal distinctions, and the common people lived in great harmony.
These families each had their own specializations, such as commerce, agriculture, weaving, martial arts...
Initially, everyone was content with their ancestral professions, exchanging resources and leading regulated lives.
However, suddenly a few rebellious individuals wanted to annex other families to grow predominant.
And one of them actually succeeded.
Thus, more people started to emulate this.
For a while, major families and the eight powers were locked in conflict, deploying spies and continually inciting wars.
War is like Pandora's box—once opened, it can never be closed again.
Just like that, hundreds of years passed, and the original twelve families and eight great powers gradually perished through mutual destruction.
During this period, the continent's populace went through several migrations, with outstanding individuals emerging. Eventually, the current four-nation structure came into being two hundred years ago.
Everyone assumed that the original twelve families and eight powers had long since dispersed.
But in fact, during those hundreds of years of strife, a descendant from each of the twelve families and eight powers survived and married each other.
They were from the martial Huangfu Aristocratic Family and the commerce-oriented Nangong Clan.
Speaking of it, their union was a quite wonderful love story.
Considering the past events and what we're discussing today are not greatly relevant, I'll just mention this briefly.
Essentially, two individuals, burdened with family feuds, grew weary of the conflict, and after falling in love, they faked their deaths to leave and live a secluded life, undertaking farming and weaving.
After the countries stabilized, they settled with their children in what is now the Northern Border of Beiyuan.
Later, when the Northern Border fell into the hands of Nanyue Kingdom, they thus became people of Nanyue.
Decades later, a prodigious individual among their descendants emerged, named Huangfu Nan.
Huangfu Nan, true to his name, perfectly inherited all his ancestors' supreme skills.
He was both skilled in commerce and fond of martial arts, reaching very high accomplishments in both areas.
A hundred years ago, when the draft banks were rising among the four countries, Huangfu Nan, seizing the opportunity and under the alias "Blade Beneath", established the Rishengchang Draft Bank.
In just a few decades, Rishengchang swept across the draft banks of the four countries, becoming the number one leader.
During this period, Huangfu Nan continuously chose people of good potential and founded the Black Feather Guard.
Frankly speaking, the earliest members of the Black Feather Guard were simply clerks from Rishengchang.
Even the impressive Master Shen of today's Nanyue Court started merely as a clerk.
At this point, Zhao Xiyan paused and took a sip of tea.
"Yueyue, do you want to continue listening?"
Qi Yue, utterly engrossed, eagerly responded.
"Of course, keep going."